President Clinton announced today that he will award the
Presidential Medal of Freedom, the Nation's highest civilian honor,
to 15 distinguished Americans. The President will bestow the
medals at a White House ceremony on January 15, 1998.

Arnold Aronson. A civil rights leader for over fifty years, Arnie
Aronson co-founded and led the path-breaking Leadership Conference on
Civil Rights, coordinated lobbying campaigns to pass the landmark civil
rights legislation of the 1950s and 1960s, and joined Dr. Martin Luther
King, Jr. as one of the ten leaders of the 1963 March on Washington.

Brooke Astor. A New York philanthropist, Brooke Astor, through the
Vincent Astor Foundation, has spent a lifetime funding innovative
projects, ranging from outdoor living spaces in public housing to the
revitalization of the New York Public Library, for which she has served
as a trustee since 1959.

Robert Coles. As Professor of Social Ethics at Harvard,
psychiatrist, recipient of a MacArthur Genius Award, and
Pulitzer-Prize-winning author of more than 50 books, Coles is a
leader in the call to citizen service. He has explored children's
relationships with their world, focusing much of his research on
how children experience racism and spirituality. Early in his
career, he served as an adviser to President Kennedy on racial and
education issues.

Justin Dart, Jr. Considered the father of the historic Americans
with Disabilities Act, Justin Dart has worked from his wheelchair for
more than 40 years to expand the rights of others. From his days at
the University of Houston organizing a civil rights initiative to his
government service to his trailblazing work on behalf of people with
disabilities, Dart has profoundly influenced the public policy of this
Nation.

James Farmer. One of our Nation's most influential civil rights
leaders, James Farmer formed the Congress of Racial Equality in 1942,
which became a catalyst of the civil rights movement. As the director
of CORE, Farmer introduced nonviolent resistance against segregation
and discrimination through such activities as sit-ins, standing lines,
and the famous Freedom Rides. He is currently a professor at Mary
Washington College in Fredericksburg, VA.

Frances Hesselbein. Mrs. Hesselbein is one of the foremost experts
on not-for-profit corporations and management in the workplace. As the
leader of the Girl Scouts of America from 1976 to 1990, she transformed
the organization. By 1990 her policies had produced a record
membership of 3 million and had tripled minority participation. She is
now President and CEO of the Peter F. Drucker Foundation for Non-Profit
Management, which helps non-profit organizations maintain their values
while more effectively meeting the needs of those they serve.

Fred Korematsu. Fred Korematsu's legal challenges to civilian
exclusion orders during WWII serve as the underpinning of the redress
movement for Japanese Americans. In 1942, he was arrested and
convicted for violating the government's exclusion orders, sentenced
to five years of probation and sent to an internment camp. Korematsu
appealed his conviction to the Supreme Court, where it was upheld in
1944. Forty years later in 1983, a Federal district court found the
Government's exclusion and detention actions during the war were
legally unsupportable and that the Government's defense of the actions
was based on fraud and misconduct.

Sol Linowitz. Linowitz, along with David Rockefeller, is a founder
and a former chair of the International Executive Service Corps. A
volunteer program that sends American executives to provide managerial
and technical expertise to developing countries, IESC has launched more
than 10,000 service projects. In addition to a successful career as an
international lawyer and businessman, Linowitz served as United States
representative to the OAS as well as co-negotiator of the Panama Canal
treaties and President Carter's Ambassador-at-Large for Middle East
negotiations.

Wilma Mankiller. Rising out of poverty and overcoming great
personal tragedy, Wilma Mankiller was appointed the principal chief
of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma in 1985. In 1987, she became the
first elected female leader of a major Indian tribe and was re-elected
twice. Known for being an effective leader, she has emphasized
reducing Cherokee infant mortality, improving health and educational
systems, and promoting Cherokee business interests.

Margaret (Mardy) Murie. A lifetime environmental activist and the
widow of renowned naturalist Olaus Murie, Ms. Murie has been at the
forefront of the conservation movement for over 70 years. A member of
the governing council of The Wilderness Society, her work led to, among
other accomplishments, the passage of landmark legislation that
protected some of our Nation's most pristine and precious lands in
Alaska. She also founded the Teton Science School to teach ecology to
students of all ages.

Mario G. Obledo, 65. As co-founder of the Mexican-American Legal
Defense and Education Fund (MALDEF) and the National Hispanic Bar
Association, Mario Obledo has been at the forefront of the struggle to
ensure the civil rights of America's Hispanic citizens. Obledo served
as Chairman of the National Rainbow Coalition from 1988 to 1993. He is
a veteran of the Korean Conflict and has served as Secretary of Health
and Welfare of the State of California and as an Assistant Attorney
General of the State of Texas.

Elliot L. Richardson. Elliot Richardson has served in four
different U.S. cabinet positions. During the administrations of
Presidents Nixon and Ford, he served as Secretary of Health, Education
and Welfare; Secretary of Defense; Attorney General; and Secretary of
Commerce. In addition, he has held the positions of Undersecretary of
State and Ambassador to the Court of St. James. Mr. Richardson served
with distinction through some of the most difficult times in American
Government, resigning as Attorney General during the Watergate scandal.
A decorated World War II veteran, Mr. Richardson is the recipient of
the Bronze Star and two Purple Hearts.

David Rockefeller. Co-founder with Sol Linowitz of the
International Executive Service Corps, David Rockefeller, the former
longtime chairman of Chase Manhattan Bank, is also a renowned
philanthropist. Personally and through the various Rockefeller
Foundations he has funded a multitude of projects in fields such as
the arts, literacy, food distribution, international family planning
efforts, Latin American studies, and clinical treatment of Alzheimer's
disease. He was also a co-founder of the Dartmouth Conference and the
Trilateral Commission, both of which have opened new pathways of
communication for world leaders.

Albert Shanker (posthumous). Shanker first became known in the
1960s as the aggressive leader of New York City's teachers' union.
During his long tenure as President of the American Federation of
Teachers and as Vice-President of the AFL-CIO, Shanker worked to
change radically how schools and teachers' unions do business. He
became a staunch proponent of teacher certification and higher
standards for students.

Elmo Russell (Bud) Zumwalt, Jr., 76. A distinguished Naval
veteran, Admiral Zumwalt served as Commander of United States Naval
Forces in Vietnam and later as Chief of Naval Operations. Respected
for his progressive policies as CNO, Zumwalt issued tough directives
to end discrimination, particularly against blacks and women, and his
actions were credited with helping to reverse negative trends in Navy
enlistment. A successful businessman, he now devotes much of his time
to securing compensation for veterans whose health problems can be
linked to their service in Vietnam.